Feds bust second sex trafficking ring tied to Newburgh

Tuesday

Apr 30, 2013 at 6:16 PMApr 30, 2013 at 6:18 PM

NEW YORK — Thirteen people have been charged with operating a sex trafficking ring that included brothels in Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday, unsealing a criminal complaint against the defendants.

HEATHER YAKIN

NEW YORK — Thirteen people have been charged with operating a sex trafficking ring that included brothels in Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday, unsealing a criminal complaint against the defendants.This is the second time in a month that law enforcement has broken up a sex trafficking ring with ties to our area. On March 28, local police arrested a Newburgh man on charges he trafficked women for sex in Newburgh and New Windsor.Nine of the federal defendants are from Queens, one is from Delaware and three were previously in custody.“With promises of a better life, the members of this alleged sex trafficking and prostitution ring lured their unsuspecting victims to the United States and then consigned them to a living hell,” said Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara said the victims were forced into sexual slavery through threats, verbal abuse and violence, and forced to live in “abhorrent conditions.”The Newburgh brothel was on First Street, and the Poughkeepsie brothel was on Rose Street, according to the complaint.Prosecutors say the sex trafficking enterprise has operated since 2008, part of a larger network of traffickers operating between Tenancingo, Mexico and New York. Prosecutors say they lure the women in the U.S., often engaging them in romantic relationships and promises of a better life, and then force them into prositution. Prosecutors said the women typically had 20 to 30 customers per day, each paying $30 to $35 for 15 minutes of sex. Half of the money would go to the driver or brothel, the rest to the trafficker.Four defendants – Isaias Flores-Mendez, 40, and Bonifacio Flores-Mendez, 33, of Queens; Juana Lucas-Sanchez, 36, of Milford, Del.; and David Vasquez-Medina, 32, were charged with sex trafficking under federal law, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. hyakin@th-record.com